Established Church Research Articles

A Seal of Leo Spelaiotis from the Crimea

Sigillographic sources from the Taurica supply information on the relations of this region with the central government along with provincial administrations and representatives of aristocratic circles of the Byzantine Empire, as well as with various Orthodox Church institutions. An illustration to the latter could be an eleventh-­century mollybdoboullon discovered in the Crimea, which features a rare image of the Mother of God Spelaiotissa (of the Cave) and belonged to the monk Leo Spelaiotis. From the combination of the sigillographic type and the nickname of the seal’s owner there are reasons to suppose that the monument introduced into the scholarship is not a seal of the Byzantine noble families but belonged to a representative of a famous pilgrimage centre in the Peloponnesus. The find of the seal of a clergyman of the Mother of God Spelaiotissa’s Monastery in the Crimea widens the geography of the region’s pilgrimage connections and uncovers the contacts of the Taurica priests with the monasteries in the South Pontic coast, the Asia Minor, and Central Greece.

Роль Русской православной церкви в развитии системы национального образования малых коренных народов Енисейской губернии (1860–1917 гг.)

The article is a survey research that examines the experience of the formation and development of the national education system for small indigenous peoples of the Yenisei province in the pre-revolutionary period and analyzes the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in this process. The study provides a characteristic of the regulatory and methodological framework, describes the structure of church institutions involved in the education of foreigners, and also analyzes the activities of educational institutions for the foreign population. A complex of research methods is used for the study: comparative historical, structural-functional, problemchronological, anthropological, statistical. The author comes to the conclusion that the Russian Orthodox Church played a fundamental role in the genesis of the system of national education for the indigenous small peoples of the Yenisei province in the second half of the 19th – 20th centuries.

ИСТОРИЧЕСКАЯ ГЕОГРАФИЯ КАТОЛИЦИЗМА В КИТАЕ В XIV – ПЕРВОЙ ПОЛОВИНЕ XX ВЕКОВ

The article is devoted to the development of Catholicism in China. The broad chronological framework (the 14th – first half of the 20th centuries) makes it possible to determine the nature of its spatial expansion. The attention is paid to the geographical logic of the Roman Catholic Church progress within China. The territorial and organizational structure of Catholicism in the country included the main core located in Northern China and covering the historical Zhili province with the center in Beijing and the adjacent regions of Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Shanxi. It was distinguished by the highest number and density of the Catholic population, as well as the greatest concentration of administrative-territorial institutions (units) of the Roman Catholic Church, clergy and religious infrastructure. The four cores of the second order, which had a smaller number and density of the Catholic population, were: the Jiangsu province with the main centers in Shanghai and Nanjing in the east, Hubei in the center, Guangdong with the greatest concentration of Catholics in the Pearl River Delta in the south, and Sichuan in the west. Considering both the population and the political side of the network of the Roman Catholic Church institutions in China, the authors conclude that the structure was in need of institutional consolidation from the Holy See, which could give the status of dioceses to its temporary administrative units in China – apostolic vicariates, uniting them into ecclesiastical provinces – metropolises. Until this happened, the unity of the space of Catholicism in China could not be ensured, since each apostolic vicariate was directly subordinate to the institution of the Roman Curia, the Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith, responsible for missionary activities.

Triangulating the Foundations of Kuyperian Spirituality

Spirituality is an under-developed topic on Abraham Kuyper, perhaps it is due to Kuyper’s strong emphasis on the public implications of Christian faith. But things are not supposed to remain that way, since Kuyper also has an equally strong emphasis on the importance of the private dimension of Christian faith. For more than 40 years, Kuyper had written a multivolume of meditations which amount to 2,200. In those meditations, his personality and spirituality are clearly reflected. This article argues that his meditations would be a suitable starting point to construct a Kuyperian spirituality alongside other Kuyperian themes such as his doctrine of regeneration (palingenesis) and his ecclesiology. The term “palingenesis” (from Greek word palingenesia) refers to both personal rebirth and the rebirth of all cosmos. This doctrine bridges the private and public implications of Christian faith, between spirituality and Christian actions in Kuyper’s theology. And while his distinction between the Church as institution and as organism is well-known, his emphasis on the role of the institutional Church as mother which nurtures the spirituality of the believers is lesser known. A deeper examination shows how his ecclesiology plays a central role in his spirituality.

Russian Empire’s Religious Institutions in the 18th - Early 20th Century: The Evolution of “Friend - Alien - Foe” Relations

The Russian governments three principal institutions to regulate the empires diverse religions from the 18th to the early 20th century are examined. Its author describes the evolution of these bodies, their features and purpose, as well as defining the concept of religious security by analyzing its specific historical content. The author also discusses the relationship between the institutions of the official Russian Church, religious tolerance for foreign confessions, and discrimination against the Old Believers through the prism of friend - alien - foe relations. This approach helps us understand the hierarchical nature of the relations and contradictions that existed between the institutions, whose activities regulated the religious life of the Russian Empires subjects until 1905. The article goes on to analyze the relationship between the official legal status of the Russian Church, imperial tolerance, and religious discrimination. It concludes that the formation of the three state-religious institutions that began in the 18th century ended during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. That time saw the beginning of the gradual evolution of friend - alien - foe inter-institutional relations, which peaked under Emperor Nicholas in 1904-1906. The author also considers the changes in the governments policy towards the Russian schism of the 17th century, which ultimately removed the friend-or-foe opposition in the relations between the Russian state, the Russian Church and the schismatic Old Believers. In accordance with the modernized legislation on religious tolerance, lawful Old Believers and sectarians moved from the category of religious and political foes to that of aliens, to which foreign confessions traditionally belonged. Under the new legal and political conditions, intolerance and religious discrimination against the schism ceased to be an instrument of state policy.

Protest kobiet. Wizerunek katolicyzmu w wytwórczości współczesnych polskich reżyserek

In the second decade of the 20th century (especially in the years 2016-2020), a significant number of films by Polish female directors were released in which Catholicism and the Catholic Church were attacked. They were: W imię… [In the Name of…], Body/ciało [Body], Twarz (Mug) and Córka boga [The Other Lamb] – all directed by Małgorzata Szumowska; Dzikie róże [Wild Roses] by Anna Jadowska, Pokot [Spoor] by Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik, Wieża. Jasny dzień [Tower. A Bright Day] by Jagoda Szelc, Powrót, [Back Home] by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, Maryjki [Marygoround] by Daria Woszek, as well as a documentary Komunia [Communion] by Anna Zamecka. The polemic related to the above-mentioned movies commented on the religiosity of Catholics and the quality of the institutional church (priests, hierarchies, methods of ministering and teaching), religious control and repression of corporeality and sexuality (including female sexuality), and Catholicism as the foundation of the patriarchal system. These films also feature elements of the "positive program", a proposal for a new cultural paradigm (new spirituality), organized around Nature, with the suggestion of matriarchy. From the point of view of social communication, the content and poetics of above-mentioned the films were similar, according to the author, to the content of the protests of the Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet (Polish Women's Strike), which demonstrated in 2016 and 2020 against the tightening of abortion laws.

Eklezjalne dogmaty wiary katolickiej w świadomości dorosłych katolików polskich z przełomie wieków

In this paper, the author discusses a number of issues referred to in the title, namely: 1) the religious dimension of the Church as a community founded by Jesus Christ; 2) the spiritual dimension of the Church as a community of believers – the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ; 3) the essential characteristics of the Church: one, holy, universal, apostolic; 4) the religious-salvific as well as the social role of the institutional Church. The analyses in this paper rely on the findings from sociological studies and social surveys conducted in the latter half of the 20th century and in the subsequent two decades of the 21st century among adult Polish Catholics concerning their attitude towards the ecclesial dogmas of the Catholic faith. An examination of those results demonstrate a direction of changes in how adult Catholics perceive and assess the features and the religious mission of the Church in both periods in question, i.e. at the turn of the century. In the current century, the proportion of adult Catholics who accept the ecclesial dogmas of the faith have been somewhat lower than it was the case in the second half of the 20th century. Similarly, the ratios of Catholics who acknowledged the religious-salvific and social role of the Church in the religiosity and life of the lay adherents were higher in the past century.

The importance of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine for the confessional policy of the Russian Federation in Central and Eastern Europe

The subject of the article is an analysis of the impact of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine's autocephaly process on Ukraine's relations with the Russian Federation. Orthodoxy, understood as both a religious institution and a denomination, has been a constant and most important component of Russia's identity since the very beginning of its existence. It remains the dominant religion in the Russian Federation, despite the religious diversity resulting from the multi-ethnic nature of the state. The aim of the article is to analyze the role of the Orthodox Church in the internal and foreign policy of the Russian Federation. In Russian-Ukrainian relations, it played an important role in supporting activities such as the annexation of Crimea or support for pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas. The position of the Russian Orthodox Church in contemporary Russia is also associated with a specific type (model) of the policy pursued by that state, referred to as "confessional policy (diplomacy)", integrally connected with the issues of religious security of the country. The analysis of the content of the program documents of the state institutions of the Russian Federation and internal organizations of the Russian Orthodox Church allows to distinguish the so-called differentia specifica, characterizing the community of assumptions and the identity of actions undertaken by state and church institutions in Russia. Church institutions are perceived as the so-called The "national" church of the Russian Federation. This results in the Church becoming entangled in various parapolitical affiliations, which in turn has specific implications in the political and interfaith sphere. The authors, on the basis of the conducted analysis, conclude that the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is essential for the country's independence from Russia – it strengthens the Ukrainian national identity and limits Russian influence in this country.

Stevens, Ralph. Protestant Pluralism: The Reception of the Toleration Act, 1689–1720.

Stevens, Ralph. <i>Protestant Pluralism: The Reception of the Toleration Act, 1689–1720</i>.

Why Medieval Allegory?

Why Medieval Allegory?

The nuns’ story: Empirical research into religious, post/colonial, and gender power issues as illustrated by the lives and work of the missionary congregation, the Zusters van de Jacht

Abstract This article is based on interviews carried out with sixteen members of the Zusters van de Jacht, a congregation founded in Belgium, and whose Belgian Sisters are today a mainly retired community. The Sisters served abroad as missionaries throughout the world, during and in the aftermath of colonial rule, and this article investigates issues of power using a three-fold lens of religion, post/colonialism, and gender. As nationals of the colonising country of Belgium and as members of an established church, the Sisters had a certain power and authority in the mission field, which they exercised in different ways. As foreign women and members of a religious congregation, they held roles of leadership and influence abroad, which allowed them to be effective bringers of change and help as well as active entrepreneurs. These roles transcended the gendered roles of submission they would have held as religious Sisters in the Roman Catholic Church back in Belgium. This article examines where and how power was exercised and experienced in their frequently adventurous, sometimes dangerous, missionary lives. It situates the life stories of the Zusters van de Jacht in the context of ongoing debates about the role and influence of missionary women. It makes a contribution to the oral history of religious missionary women by presenting extracts from their life stories in their own words.

Winckles, Andrew O. Eighteenth-Century Women’s Writing and the Methodist Media Revolution: ‘Consider the Lord as Ever Present Reader .’

Winckles, Andrew O. <i>Eighteenth-Century Women’s Writing and the Methodist Media Revolution: ‘Consider the Lord as Ever Present Reader</i> <i>.’</i>

Dennis C. Rasmussen. The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship that Shaped Modern Thought.

Dennis C. Rasmussen. <i>The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship that Shaped Modern Thought</i>.

Conversion Experience of Akan Christian Royals in Ghana

The study is an examination of the conversion challenges confronting Akan Christian Royals in Ghana. The Western missionaries and missionary established churches demand that as part of their conversion requirements, Akan Royals must reject and disassociate themselves from the Black Stool, ancestors and all ancestral related activities. The Royals who claim that their families have become Christian royal families insist that authority symbols like the Black Stools and ancestral ceremonies like the Adae do not take the place of the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Christ in their belief system. Moreover, participation in Palace services prepares them for traditional leadership and does not take them away from their faith in Christ. The traditional leadership institutions and the Royals that welcomed the Western missionaries, provided them with hospitality, security and resources for the missionary work have come to be considered as unchristian and an anathema to the Christian faith. The position of the church has created tensions within Akan Christian Royal and put the genuineness of their conversion in doubt. The study which is qualitative in nature uses both primary and secondary methods in its information gathering. Its findings provide responses to some contemporary tensions in gospel and culture studies in African Christianity. Keywords: Akan Royals, Christian Conversion, Cultural Identity, Black Stool, Authority Symbols

The Emperor at the Council. Imperial Interventions in Late Antique Church Councils in Literary Sources and Documentary Records

Abstract This paper examines the modes of imperial interactions with Church councils, focusing on the emperor’s participation in episcopal meetings and its representation in late antique sources, both literary and documentary. The author argues that the availability and strategic dissemination of conciliar records could affect, for better or worse, the understanding of the imperial religious policy and attitude towards Church institutions. This is most clearly illustrated by Marcian’s behaviour at Chalcedon, and by the active steps he took to produce an official and imperially endorsed edition of the conciliar acts. The significance of Marcian’s initiatives emerges more clearly when placed in the context of developing practices with respect to conciliar procedure (and the imperial role therein) and the circulation of conciliar information. After considering possible precedents in both these fields, the article reconstructs the early circulation and reception of the Chalcedonian acts, focusing particularly on the records of the sixth session, which was presided by the emperor himself. The author discusses the role played by the imperial initiative at the council and in its aftermath, and how it contributed to shape the reception of Marcian’s image as a Christian ruler.

Determinants for the Development of the Activity of the Catholic Church in Poland in the Field of Social Communication

In recent years, the Catholic Church has been forced to change its attitude towards social communication and mass media. It has had to face not only religious but image challenges. Worldview matters, contemporary problems regarding the institution of marriage or pedophilia in the Church are constantly being debated in mass media, thus creating dangers in terms of critical public reception. This situation has also been occurring in Poland in recent years. The observed progress regarding opening the Church to media relations and the use of rich instruments of social communication have their reasons rooted not only in the history of the social and political events of the past several decades but also in the changes in the sphere of mass media and social communication. This article is an attempt to generate a peculiar typology of determinants regarding the development of social communication within the institutional church in Poland. Within our framework of methodological conditions, a literature query with available statistical analyses and observations of current events was applied. Our conclusions show the current attitude of the Catholic Church in Poland regarding issues related to the marketization of faith and the medialization of religion.

Jesus Shall Reign? An Examination of Christian Mission to the Akan Palace

The Gospel and African Culture interface has remained an ongoing dialogue due to the fact of inherent tensions. The genuineness of the conversion of the traditional leadership institution that welcomed the Western missionaries has remained in doubt in some missionary established churches. The conversion challenges of the traditional leaders have resulted from ancestors and ancestorial related functions that traditional leaders performed. The churches over the years created mission fields and chaplaincies with trained personnel and resources to address conversion challenges of specific and unique communities. While the creation of mission fields and appointments of chaplains have made significant responses to the conversion challenges of the people involved, the conversion challenges that traditional leaders have constantly requested for support from the churches have not been fully addressed. The study is an examination of the requests of some traditional leaders for Christian missions to be extended to the Palace and responses made so far by some of the missionary established churches. The study adopts a qualitative approach with an examination of relevant available materials and interviews. The study points to the fact that the conversion of the Palace and its functionaries must be considered as a major ministry and mission field of the church with trained ministers and resources for the specialized mission field. The study moreover calls for deeper research into matters of ancestors and ancestorial related rites that have remained as areas of tension between the church and the conversion of the Palace functionaries. Keywords: Palace, Christian Mission, Traditional Leadership, Chaplaincy, Conversion

Fighting for not-So-Religious souls: The role of religious competition in secular conflicts.

Many countries embroiled in non-religious civil conflicts have experienced a dramatic increase in religious competition in recent years. This study examines whether increasing competition between religions affects violence in non-religious or secular conflicts. The study focuses on Colombia, a deeply Catholic country that has suffered one of the world’s longest-running internal conflicts and, in the last few decades, has witnessed an intense increase in religious competition between the Catholic Church and new non-Catholic churches. The estimation of a dynamic treatment effect model shows that establishing the first non-Catholic church in a municipality substantially increases the probability of conflict-related violence. The effect is larger for violence by guerrilla groups, and is concentrated on municipalities where the establishment of the first non-Catholic church leads to more intense religious competition. Further analysis suggests that the increase in guerrilla violence is associated with an expectation among guerrilla groups that their membership will decline as a consequence of more intense competition with religious groups for followers.

Pointing to Transcendence: Reflections from an Anglican Context

Abstract After a critical examination of western master narratives of modernization and secularization, David Martin focuses, first, on one of the variants of Christian modernity, Anglican modernity. The Anglican Church provides a simulacrum of the universal church as it ranges from the Catholic to the Evangelical and Pentecostal and is, hence, rigged also by many of the problems confronting the church in the contemporary world. Next, Martin considers some examples of unanchored spirituality and free-floating faith that have, in his opinion, no serious future as major expressions of Christianity—he discusses, in particular, Schumann’s paradigm of Romantic music. Though inevitably fallible, churches are to be regarded as pointers to transcendence, opening, in the words of William Blake, “the doors of perception.” Without the institutional church to protect and perpetuate the Christian language of transcendence and provide ritual re-enactment of the Christian story of ruin and restoration, the Anglican/Christian vision would be as vulnerable and ephemeral as most contemporary forms of non-institutional, un-anchored “spirituality” [the editors].

하나님 나라를 세우는 한국교회의 성육신적 제자도 선교

This article studies how the Korean church, which has lost its social credibility, will restore it and carry out missionary works. It first examins the sources of mission theology that led to the loss of social trust. This was the establishment of a spiritual church and individualistic soul winning mission emphasized by the Presbyterian Missions in Korea. This policy caused conflicts with Koreans. In addition, this article studies missionary Elisabeth J. Shepping, R.N. 1912-1934, who emphasized both soul and social salvation, and further the missionary characteristics of Korean leaders who exchanged interactions with her. This article looks at how these characteristics are discussed in Lausanne and WCC documents which appear as peripheral mission, transformative holism, and incarnational discipleship mission. This article discusses their application to the Korean church.